Lighting fixtures are used in many different applications. Indoor mounted lights in particular are used for different purposes, including ambient lighting, decorative lighting and lighting for specific work areas, often known as “task lighting.” These different types of lighting have different requirements.
In addition, there are different types of light sources, including incandescent, fluorescent, and more recently, light emitting diodes (LEDs). These different types of light sources are advantageously used in different applications. Within each different type of light source there are also different colours of light, often referred to as the “colour temperature” of the light source. Thus, lighting for any particular purpose can be selected based on the type of light fixture and light source which is most suitable for the application.
LED lighting has certain advantages. LED lights consume significantly less electricity than incandescent lights, up to 80% less in some cases. Furthermore, LEDs are more durable, lasting fifty thousand to one hundred thousand hours as opposed to twenty thousand hours for average incandescent lighting. This makes LED lighting particularly suitable for certain applications were a high degree of illumination is required.
However, commensurate with the high level of illumination is a significant amount of heat which must be dissipated from the fixture. Furthermore, in certain applications where the light fixture is to be mounted into a surface which is not accessible, the light fixture must be completely self-contained including all connections to the electrical wiring, within a housing that meets all regulatory requirements. Furthermore, such a light fixture may need to be maintained or replaced and therefore access to the interior of the light fixture must be relatively easy and safe.